1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to a retainer or truss for poultry or fowl and pertains, more specifically, to a retainer for securing hocks of small fowl during processing, shipping and cooking.
2. Prior Art.
Whole bodies of eviscerated poultry such as chicken are currently packed and shipped for retail to the consumer. In some instances, the eviscerated chicken are flavorized prior to shipping and cooked by the retailer prior to sale. Cooking of the chickens is often accomplished by skewing the chickens and mounting them on a rotisserie for baking in an oven. Since chicken legs tend to loosen during cooking, it is usually the practice to secure the legs to the body during cooking. In one common method of securement, the skin is slit and the leg tucked beneath the skin. This method of securing chicken legs during cooking suffers from a number of disadvantages, including possible contamination of the chicken and difficulties in cooking if the leg comes out of the slit due to improper formation of the slit.
Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a retainer for use with a body of eviscerated poultry to secure the hocks in juxtaposition during shipping and cooking.
Another object of the invention is to provide a retainer of the above character which is suitable for use with small poultry such as chicken.
Another object of the invention is to provide a retainer of the above character which can be easily attached to the chicken body.
Another object of the invention is to provide a retainer of the above character which is suitable for an automated installation process.
Another object of the invention is to provide a retainer of the above character which can be utilized to indicate characteristics of the chicken such as flavor.